1989 ShelbyDakota Club

Celebrating 30 Years of Shelby Dakota History

The 5.2-litre Shelby V8 was the fastest production pickup truck of its era.

While slightly under powered by today's standards, the Shelby Dakota is still a fun truck to drive and own.

The first truck Carroll Shelby ever put his stamp on was based on the Dodge Dakota — during the 1989 model year, ~1500 Dakota trucks were shipped to and modified at Shelby Automobiles in Whittier, California, eventually becoming the limited-production Shelby Dakota.

Shelby began working with Dodge at the request of Chrysler Corporation chairman, Lee Iacocca, who had previously been responsible for bringing Shelby together with the Ford Mustang.

Following his trademark formula, when Shelby puts his name on a vehicle, you can count on some great performance improvements and not just a fancy paint job.

The Shelby Dakota was the first V8 Dakota and the first rear-wheel-drive machine Shelby built since the 1960s.